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Friday December 9

Apple is rumored to be in talks with three movie studios to offer movie rentals in iTunes: 21st Century Fox Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures. But these aren’t just any rentals. If the deals go through, iTunes customers will be able to rent movies two weeks after they debut in theaters, a move that could significantly expand Apple’s footprint in the streaming movie market.

Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Mac Rumors: AirPods were originally slated to launch in October, but the wireless earphones were later delayed. Apple said it needed "a little more time" before they are ready for customers, and it has yet to provide an official update since. While the exact reason for the delay remains unclear, a person familiar with the development of AirPods told The Wall Street Journal that Apple's troubles appear to be related to its "efforts to chart a new path for wireless headphones," in addition to resolving what happens when users lose one of the earpieces or the battery dies. The Wall Street Journal reports: "A person familiar with the development of the AirPod said the trouble appears to stem from Apple's effort to chart a new path for wireless headphones. In most other wireless headphones, only one earpiece receives a signal from the phone via wireless Bluetooth technology; it then transmits the signal to the other earpiece. Apple has said...

Get ready for Bluetooth 5 because the Bluetooth Special Interest Group officially ratified the specification for the wireless protocol this week. Bluetooth 5 promises twice the speed and four times the range compared to the current Bluetooth standard, and will start showing up in devices soon.

It’s seldom convincing to pretend to know what Steve Jobs would have done in any situation were he alive today. We have general ideas, but invoking him as a cloak of authority is fraught with problems. On the other hand, when someone intimately familiar with Steve Jobs makes an astute observation, it’s worth a read. John Martellaro found one of those insights and highlights it.

When Apple unveiled the iPhone 7, much ado was made over the new model’s missing headphone jack. But Cupertino had a solution to assuage those worries: a pair of $159 Bluetooth earphones called AirPods that would ship just a few weeks after the new iPhones. But October came and went without an AirPods release date, and now that the holidays are upon us, it’s clear that Apple’s cord-free earphones just aren’t ready for the public yet. So what’s going on?

According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple may have run into trouble with the connection between the wireless pods. Each piece receives Bluetooth signals independently, but they must play audio at the same time. Apple hasn’t said what the problem is (and they likely won’t), but Bluetooth and audio experts told the WSJ that common problems wireless earphones face are losing Bluetooth signal...

The AWT News Update is on hiatus while my compadre, Steve, takes a road trip. In its place, I’ll offer a text-only (no podcast) summary of breaking stories with a tip o’ my hat to my former website, Apple Daily Report.

The folks at AmpliFi have posted an article on “The Evolution of Home Wi-Fi: From Apple AirPort to AmpliFi Mesh Technology.” It’s a good read; check it out here.

The Federal Trade Commission is providing over $88 million in refunds to more than 2.7 million AT&T customers who had third-party charges added to their mobile bills without their consent, a tactic known as “mobile cramming.” The refunds to consumers relate to 2014 settlements with AT&T, and the companies behind two of the cramming schemes....

IK Multimedia continues to push the envelope forward with their analog effects modelling with their new MODO BASS virtual electric bass instrument app — the first of its kind to physically model the properties of a real electric bass. MODO BASS promises to deliver a completely new level of realism and playability, recreating not only the sound profile of the electric bass but also the human technique of how the instrument is played in real time, and all of the effects and amplifiers that would be in the sound chain. The app includes a collection of twelve of the most iconic electric basses in history, all specifically modelled, ranging from “60s P-Bass” based on an Alder body 60s era Fender Precision Bass and “70’s P-Bass” based on an Ash body Fender Precision Bass, all the way to more eclectic options such as the Ibanez Soundgear based “Japan Bass” and the Warwick Streamer inspired “Flame Bass.”...

Alexander Dunn's documentary "808: The Movie" focusing on the legendary Roland-808 drum machine has been released exclusively on Apple Music, and will be available for download or rent on the iTunes Movie store on Dec. 16.

The new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar has been available for a few weeks now … and the inevitable has finally happened. Graham Parks has made a nifty little Mac app to play piano on the Touch Bar display that is available to download. It puts a polyphonic keyboard in the center of the Touch Bar which you can then tap on and play notes.

The free app is obviously meant as a bit of fun but amusingly includes a few settings to add some depth to the experience. Video demo after the jump …

AT&T, via its DirecTV arm, joins the likes of PlayStation Vue and Sling TV with a TV streaming service that has cable-like offerings but is delivered entirely online. DirecTV Now works with the Apple TV, iOS devices, and the Mac, too.

Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.

iOS and tvOS now host three services for live content without a traditional cable or satellite package: Sling TV, DirecTV Now, and PlayStation Vue. Josh Centers explains why PlayStation Vue is the superior choice for news and sports fans.

Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.

Anyone planning on making cards, calendars or books for friends and family through the Mac Photos app should plan on getting orders in soon, as Apple has some deadlines looming if you want to get those product by Christmas. Reader Desmond Fuller sent an email to Apple World Today telling us exactly when those deadlines are.

For regular shipping, products should be ordered by December 13. If you're willing to pay for expedited shipping, you can procrastinate until December 16. Any orders made for print products after that time will come after Christmas.

The Mac App Store works for those who want more of a hands off approach but I’ve always preferred to buy direct from the developer. This piece does a good job of laying out the pros and cons of each method.

A Denmark court has ruled that in cases of iPhones purchased new, that Apple can't give a refurbished phone in exchange for new, as there is no guarantee that the resale value is retained with the exchange.

Apple is changing course and letting its engineers publish their research into artificial intelligence. John Martellaro and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to share their thoughts on why Apple would do that, plus they respond to a listener comment questioning why Jeff is critical of HomeKit.

Microsoft and Intel have announced Project Evo, their highly anticipated collaboration to create the next generation of personal computers. The project aims to expand on new advances in AI, mixed reality, advanced security and gaming, Terry Myerson, executive vice president of the Windows and Devices Group at Microsoft, unveiled some of Project Evo's ambitious plans at the WinHEC event in China. Through the collaboration, the companies will push the boundaries of a personal computer's capabilities in the near future, he said.

Check out this working reproduction Joyce Byers’s wall from Stranger Things. I say working, but I don’t mean you can communicate with people stuck in the Upside Down. But you can write messages to it using an app. It was made by members of Makerologists, a Seattle-based maker group. Each bulb is period correct (C9 incandescent bulbs, according to Makezine), but behind the wall are modern components controlled by an Arduino so that one can send messages to it. It debuted earlier this year at the 2016 Portland Mini Maker Faire, but is making a splash today after appearing at Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle. Wallpaper and wainscoting are on fleek, and the whole thing looks great. There’s a lot of information on Makerologists’s Facebook page. The Makezine article above has good info, too.

While the exact reason for the delay remains unclear, a person familiar with the development of AirPods told The Wall Street Journal that Apple’s troubles appear to be related to its “efforts to chart a new path for wireless headphones,” in addition to resolving what happens when users lose one of the earpieces or the battery dies.

I’ve been using the AirPods since they were introduced at the event and I love them. I’ve had a couple of very minor issues over the last couple of months, but nothing significant. These things are going to sell really well.

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Friday that a software update for Galaxy Note 7 smartphones will be released mid-December in the United States preventing them from charging and functioning as mobile phones, rendering them useless.

Good, they are dangerous to the general public.

However, Verizon Communications Inc said it would not take part in the update because of the added risk this could pose to Galaxy Note7 users that do not have another device to switch to.

Looking for a simple solution for amplifying your iPhone’s speaker? The Mangobeat is an all-natural amplifier made by an independent craftsman.

Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.

For the next two weeks only (or until supply runs out), AppleInsider readers can stack discounts to grab a 32GB Apple TV for $109.00 or a 64GB Apple TV for $149.00. Or pick up one of Apple's new Magic accessories for the Mac at record low prices after a rebate, including the new Magic Keyboard for $77, Magic Mouse 2 for $52, and Magic Trackpad 2 for $96. Plus, shipping is free and there's no tax for customers outside NY and NJ.

Apple’s AirPods are still not available. The reason is the company is still working to ensure that both earpieces receive audio at the same time, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“In most other wireless headphones, only one earpiece receives a signal from the phone via wireless Bluetooth technology; it then transmits the signal to the other earpiece,” the article says. “Apple has said AirPod earpieces each receive independent signals from an iPhone, Mac or other Apple device. But Apple must ensure that both earpieces receive audio at the same time to avoid distortion, the person familiar with their development said. That person said Apple also must resolve what happens when a user loses one of the earpieces or the battery dies.”

The AirPods were supposed to go on sale in October, but were delayed as Apple said it needed "a little more...

Apple products span all sorts of demographics with all sorts of products, from wearable Watches to iPhones to post-PC tablets to desktop Macs. There’s a lot out there in the Apple ecosystem to buy this holiday season as a gift for someone you know (or for yourself) who loves Apple products.

There are only a few weeks left in the year and we haven’t received an update on when Apple’s new wireless AirPods will be available to purchase. Originally planned for release in late October, Apple said it needed “a little more time” before the totally wireless Bluetooth earphones were ready for customers just days before that deadline arrived. While we have not received any specific explanation for the delay, a new report highlighting the situation may offer some details…

A new report in The Wall Street Journal sheds some insight on the reasons for Apple’s delay in shipping its new AirPods wireless earphones. Citing people familiar with the product’s development, the report explains that the main reason for the delay has been related to engineering challenges around the AirPods unique new wireless technology, specifically in ensuring that one AirPods is able to properly transmit a synchronized audio signal…

Mainly because of the amount of money they bring in, many people expect celebrities and other prominent figures to have thicker skins than the average Jane or Joe. However -- as evidenced by the numbers of celebrities who've forsaken social media -- fame and fortune are not effective defenses against an all-out assault by faceless trolls. Saturday Night Live cast member Leslie Jones temporarily unplugged her Twitter account after being bombarded by racist and sexist attacks. Girls star Lena Dunham quit Twitter due to abuse.

Thanks to Daylite for sponsoring The Loop this week. Feel like you’re always struggling to keep up with your work and never getting ahead? Overwhelmed by of all your tasks, projects, and new business opportunities? Are things slipping through the cracks?

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Share everything with your team. Search and find what you’re looking for in seconds. Access your info even when you don’t have an Internet connection.

Start growing your business with Daylite. You’ll be kicking yourself for not using it sooner.

When Super Mario Run debuts on iOS next Thursday, players hoping to while away their subway commute with Nintendo’s runner game will be in for a shock. Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto—the creator of the Mario series—recently told Mashable that the game will require a persistent Internet connection to play.

To hear Miyamoto tell it, this is all about reducing the risk of piracy and protecting Nintendo’s intellectual property. “We want to make sure that we’re able to offer...Super Mario Run...in a way that the software is secure, and that they’re able to play it in a stable environment,” Miyamoto told the website.

Despite being one of the most valuable corporations in the world, Apple has slipped to 36th place in Glassdoor's annual "Best Places to Work" rankings for large-scale businesses, as determined by employee ratings.

Furbo is a camera made specifically to spy on your dogs, talk to them, and dispense treats from your iPhone or Apple Watch. It connects to your Wi-Fi, which means you can control it remotely to watch, reward, and talk to your pets from wherever you are. Is it worth the cost of entry for the treat dispensing features alone, or are pet owners better off with a serious security camera solution?

If you don’t know the Super Mario Bros. theme, odds are you’re in one of those South American tribes that hasn’t ever had contact with modern man, which also means you’re missing out on one of the most awesome thing of this week: Super Mario Bros. creator Shigeru Miyamoto playing the game’s theme song. He teamed up with The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon’s band, The Roots, and it’s more fun than a bag full of Koopas. Check it out, and if you aren’t smiling along with Shigeru then you’ll probably fail the Voight-Kampff test, too.

Mesh networks have become the “new cool thing” for tech blogs to talk about and the article does a good job explaining what they are. But it also points out they are really only useful in very specific situations. It’s why I don’t think, hope and rumor to the contrary, Apple is intending to replace their wireless products with mesh networking ones.

Can a new smartwatch operating system based on Linux breathe some new life into the smart wearables market? Florent Revest hopes so. Revest, a French computer science student, on Wednesday announced the alpha release of AsteroidOS, an open source operating system that will run on several Android smartwatch models. "Many users believe that the current proprietary platforms can not guarantee a satisfactory level of control over their privacy and hardware," noted Revest, who has been working on his OS for two years.

ReSound has announced the U.S. launch of ReSound Up Smart, a pediatric Smart Hearing aid with Made for iPhone capabilities, providing new ways to support speech and language development, educational skills, and social interaction.

The ReSound Smart Hearing portfolio provides solutions for children, teenagers and adults, including those with mild-to-moderate or severe-to-profound hearing loss. ReSound Up Smart hearing aids include child safety features such as battery-door lock and an LED light that allows parents to check the status of the hearing aid and its battery at a glance.

ReSound Up Smart also allows wearers to stream sound directly to an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. The ReSound Smart app offers direct control over hearing aid settings.

The app also gives parents discreet control over their children’s hearing aids. They can start or stop streamers, such as the ReSound...

Westworld actor Evan Rachel Wood has shared some tweets which suggest that Siri is a something of a fan of the HBO SF/western show. Wood plays Dolores Abernathy, a Western girl who discovers her entire life is an elaborately constructed lie …

Today’s Quick Tip is about working out with your Apple Watch. You can make your workout view look any way you’d like, so whether you’re a statistics person or a “one thing at a time” type, you’ll get what you want. We’ll also show you how to customize each kind of workout!

In our iLounge Deal for today, we’re offering the Nomad Leather MFi-Certified Charging Wallet for only $49.95 — that’s 50% off the regular price. This minimalist leather wallet comes with a 2400 mAh MFi-certified iPhone charger with an integrated Lightning cable so you can give your iPhone a full boost while on the go. It gives you everything you want in a wallet, plus a spare battery, so you’ll have one less device to carry while…

Some gifts are used for a while and then discarded. But if you want to buy a gift that someone will take pleasure from for years to come, there’s no better choice for a music lover than some high quality audio kit.

Price-wise, these are special gifts for the special people in your life, but I’ve kept things below the stratospheric levels you could reach with some full-on audiophile kit. Prices range from $200 to an admittedly eye-watering $1500 at the very top end of the speakers.

So here are four headphones and three speakers that are likely to be greatly appreciated by any music lover …

Design includes the time and date in the upper right hand corner and weather in the top left. All apps can be moved around and placed anywhere on the mirror. After 45 seconds of inactivity the mirror goes to sleep (appears as any ordinary mirror), simply tap anywhere to wake back up and resume use. Some useful things you can do with this mirror: Request an Uber, watch Netflix, read the news, control smart thermostat / light bulbs, control Sonos speaker system and more.

Seems to me, there was an Android project a while back that did something similar. Search, search, search. Ah, here it is.

This week on the AppleInsider podcast, Victor and Neil discuss Apple's continued work in artificial intelligence and cars, the rumored "iPhone 7s," and Neil's reviews of Powerbeats3 headphones and the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar.

Zac Hall, writing for 9to5Mac, details his three weeks of experience with his 15 inch Touch Bar MacBook Pro. Zac really puts his machine through its paces and focuses on the details. Definitely worth the read if you are considering a Touch Bar Mac.

You might have a part of a class action lawsuit reward coming your way.

The United States Federal Trade Commission on Thursday announced that it will be distributing more than $88 million in refunds to 2.7 million AT&T customers who had unauthorized third-party charges added to their service bills, something better known as “mobile cramming.”

The refunds come from a $105 million settlement AT&T paid the FTC back in October of 2014, after the carrier was accused of allowing third-party companies to bill customers for things like ringtone subscriptions without their consent. Money was also collected from Tatto and Acquinity, two companies involved in the cramming scheme.

Apple recently made a quiet update to its Apple Support site, introducing a new feature that allows customers to find and schedule repairs for iPhones, Macs, and iPads from Apple Authorized Service Providers.

When troubleshooting a product, choosing “Bring in for Repair” after going through Apple’s support prompts now brings up all repair centers near a customer, including Apple’s own retail stores and retail locations where customers can get repairs from Apple Authorized Service Providers.

And:

In addition to including all nearby Apple Authorized Service Providers, the new repair site also lists availability, so customers can find the fastest repairs and get same-day service in many locations. There’s even an option to book a repair right from the site.

On Thursday, YouTube, which is by most estimates the most popular destination for music online, announced that it had reached a settlement with the National Music Publishers’ Association, a trade group, over the complex issue of unpaid songwriting royalties.

And:

In a persistent problem for the online music business, large numbers of songs have missing or incorrect data about their songwriters and which music publishers represent them, leaving what is widely estimated to be millions of dollars unpaid.

And:

The agreement with YouTube, which is owned by Google, will give participating publishers — the companies that traditionally manage songwriting rights, which are separate from those of recordings — access to a list of songs for which YouTube has missing or incomplete rights data. YouTube will then pay any accrued royalties from a fund it has set aside for this purpose.

The awaited "Super Mario Run" will be available in a few days, but the game's designer notes that for both "security" and gameplay reasons, the game requires a persistent internet connection to play that will consume 75 MB per hour or less on wireless.

The new single sign-on feature for iOS is looking pretty convenient and ABC and Disney have just come on board to support it.

Both the Watch ABC and Watch Disney apps for Apple TV and iOS will now automatically log you in if you’ve entered your cable or satellite credentials into the new settings menu.

The feature currently works with iPhone, iPad and the current-gen Apple TV, albeit some apps only support single sign-on with certain devices for now. In the case of ESPN, yet another Disney-owned business, single sign-on has yet to be enabled for the company’s streaming apps.

At present, the early partners supporting single sign-on excludes huge providers like Comcast, Verizon Fios, and Charter. Other TV Everywhere apps that have yet to embrace the convenient sign-in feature...

ExoLens is shipping the ExoLens PRO with Optics by ZEISS Wide-Angle and Telephoto Kits for the iPhone 6 family and the iPhone 7. The kits are exclusively available at Apple retail stores in the US and Canada and Apple.com.

Both the Wide-Angle and Telephoto PRO Kits are compatible with the iPhone 6, 6s, 6 Plus, 6s Plus and 7 and feature the same aspherical lens design previously reserved for high-end DSLR lenses. These kits also include the new machined aluminum ExoLens Edge mount, which features an integrated cold shoe accessory mount (compatible with accessories such as external video lights) and a key ring loop for carrying when not in use.

The US$199.95 ExoLens PRO with Optics by ZEISS Wide-Angle Kit features a ZEISS Mutar 0.6x Asph T Wide-Angle lens, which provides virtually no distortion and exceptional edge-to-edge contrast, resulting in an image quality that is unmatched by any other iPhone accessory lens. $249...

It’s ten years since the launch of the famous ‘Get a Mac’ ad campaign, admired even today as one of the most entertaining and effective series of ads ever produced. The team responsible for it – from creative directors to Mac & PC actors – have been looking back at the series in a two-part feature in ad industry journal Campaign.

The piece describes the campaign as the end result of ‘an excruciating seven-month quest for an idea that Steve Jobs didn’t hate.’ The campaign ended up running for three years, with 66 ads making it to air, though the team actually shot a total of 323 …

If you’re setting up a smart home, one item to check out is TP-Link’s $24.99 Smart Wi-Fi LED Bulb with Dimmable Light. It’s useful, but loses points because it doesn’t work with Apple HomeKit. Instead it uses the TP-Link Kasa app, which is a free download from the Apple App Store.

Once you’ve downloaded the app and paired it with the Wi-Fi LED Bulb, you can control your lights from anywhere with your iOS or Android tablet or smartphone. You can set schedules and different lighting environments (called “scenes”) to match certain occasions or events. For instance, you can turn your lights on when it gets dark, turn ‘em off when you’re leaving for work, — or to set the mood for dinner.

You can adjust the brightness of the Wi-Fi LED Bulb from 2700K color temperature to 800 lumens brightness (about 60W equivalent). You can track real-time energy usage to help save on electric bills...

How much personal details of yours are online? You obviously have profiles on social networks like Facebook, accounts on email services like Google Mail and platforms like YouTube which is also owned by Google and you have subscriptions for Apple services and different kinds of memberships of products and services offered through the likes of Google, Apple and Facebook.

Have you ever wondered what happens to all those personal details that you keep furnishing time and again to these sites, to their sister sites, to the third party sites which you authorize to collect your information from the profiles when you use those apps or features of those sites?

There are article directories that collect your social network or Facebook profile information, Apple IDs or Google Mail account details just to let you read the content on one page. You may not be visiting that site again ever in your life. It was just one page that you wished...

Users of Twitter’s official app were left confused for a few hours when the company accidentally pushed an experimental feature to all iOS users. The change removed the @username element from replies, making it hard to see what was going on as replies looked like original tweets.

Super Mario Run is set to debut next week; the first Mario game for irivhone. In the game, Mario runs forward automatically and players use one finger to make him jump up onto new platform, avoid obstacles and collect coins. Both Apple and Nintendo is hyping its launch with demos at retail stores and a round of press interviews.

However, one tidbit is putting a bit of a downer on the whole thing. It turns out that Super Mario Run will require a persistent internet connection to be playable, which significantly limits the appeal of a mobile game …

Over 200 vehicles now support Apple's in-car infotainment system, the tech giant boasted on its website. Apple has updated its CarPlay-compatible vehicle list with 50 new entries, some of which are upcoming 2017 models from Audi, Honda, Kia, Maserati...

Thursday December 8

We have a deal for you today on True Key by Intel Security, This software is a password keeper that lets you use unique features, like your face, fingerprint, or devices you’ve approved to unlock apps and websites. You can get one year of access to this software for $15.99 through us. There are also deals for three years and five years available.

Just a couple of months ago, rumors indicated Spotify was negotiating to acquire fellow music streamer SoundCloud. Now, TechCrunch reports hearing from a source that those talks have ended and Spotify is walking away. According to the Financial Times...

Scientists have found dinosaur-era feathers and evidence of them in fossil impressions before. But this is the first time they've discovered a full-feathered tail section preserved in amber, ripe for forensic analysis and Spielbergian dreams.

The European Union isn't happy some of its member countries still haven't punished Volkswagen for cheating on emission tests. According to several sources, it has began taking legal action against seven nations, starting with the UK, Germany, Luxembo...

Gene Munster, one of the most well known Apple analysts in the world, is leaving investment giant Piper Jaffray to start a venture capital firm specializing in AR/VR solutions, artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies.

If you use the official Twitter iOS app, you may have noticed something missing today: @username handles in replies. I wasn't a fan of the reworked style when it popped up on my Android device recently, and neither were many of the people affected by...

News leaked in late August that chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and Apple were working shrinking the A11 processor set to go in next year's iPhone down to 10nm. But to ensure it stays in business with the tech titan and other d...

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Thursday announced plans to mete out some $88 million to more than 2.7 million current and former AT&T customers who were affected by "mobile cramming," a scheme that added unwanted third-party service charges to their monthly phone bills.

Over the last couple of years, we've repeatedly heard a lot about Magic Leap's supposedly advanced augmented reality tech, but have seen very little. In 2014, a half-billion dollar round of investment that included Google ratcheted up the hype and it...

YouTuber colinfurze did what any Star Wars fan would do: he built a 5.5 meter (18 feet) high AT-ACT in his back yard. I love all the projects this nut job builds—he’s awesome—and this one is truly spectacular. It’s a scale model of a scale model on the outside, and on the inside it’s a Star Wars fan club house. In the video below he gives us a great tour, and he also has a behind-the-scenes video of how he built it.

Remember Secret? The standard bearer for the anonymous social app movement shuttered in 2015 before co-creator David Byttow teased a possible Version 2 in the wake of Donald Trump's election. While the old app-based Secret won't be coming back, Bytto...

Qualcomm today announced that it is working with Microsoft to bring support for Windows 10 its Snapdragon line of processors. The Snapdragon chips have primarily been used in mobile devices and the support for Windows 10 is a first for ARM-based processors.

This brings the question, why isn’t Apple working to bring macOS support to its Ax line of processors? Or is it working on it as we speak?

America's recent elections weren't the only event that Russia has been accused of meddling in. On Thursday, President Dr Hans-Georg Maaßen of the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV), Germany's internal intelligence service, issued a brut...

Thanks to some shady business dealings between AT&T and a pair of companies known for bloating customers' cell phone bills, roughly 2.7 million current and former AT&T mobile subscribers are getting more than $88 million dollars in refunds fr...

Microsoft on Wednesday announced the compatibility of Windows 10 and native Windows apps with ARM-based processors, including Qualcomm's Snapdragon, which currently powers a large percentage of Android devices. One of the highlights at this year's Windows Hardware Engineering Community event in Shenzhen, China, the new partnership will make it possible for Windows applications, peripherals and enterprise solutions to run on new mobile, power efficient and always-connected cellular PCs.

Spigen’s Car Mount Holder is a well designed product that anyone in the market for an iPhone car mount should lend a serious look. It features a typical suction apparatus to make the mount stick your your car’s dash, but has several other notable features that make iPhone car mounting easy. more…

For better or worse, Facebook is trying really hard to copy Snapchat. In the past few months the giant social network has added different features that, if you ask us, are seemingly inspired by the app with the ghost mascot. And its latest feature fo...

The AWT News Update is on hiatus while my compadre, Steve, takes a road trip. In its place, I’ll offer a text-only (no podcast) summary of breaking stories with a tip o’ my hat to my former website, Apple Daily Report.

As noted by 9to5Mac, Apple has been slowly adding more electric charging station listings to Apple Maps since the release of iOS 10, and today the world’s largest EV charging network, ChargePoint, officially confirmed integration.

As noted by AppleInsider, Nintendo’s highly-anticipated "Super Mario Run" will be available to all users on Dec. 15, but until then, people anxious to play the game can head to an Apple Store for a few minutes of hands-on time with the title.

On a regular basis, Apple World Today posts a list of notable new apps or app updates that have been released. They may not necessarily be new, but they're popular and deserve mention. Here are today's picks.

iOS Apps/Updates

Origin8 Technologies has introduced Solar Siege 1.0.8, their latest mobile strategy title. In the game, you take command of a deep space mining station harvesting the riches of the asteroids, manage a power network crucial to sustain operations, and defend against an alien foe who wants a piece of the galactic pie. Players can spend earnings on a selection of persistent upgrades to support and complement their units, research new abilities, weapons and defenses. Solar Siege is free, but does tout in-app purchases.

There’s a project on Kickstarter called HyperDrive that raised more than $341,000 in two shakes of a lamb’s tail. It’s a USB-C hub from Sanho for MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. It’s similar to the 5-in-1 HyperDrive from the same company we had a deal on a few days ago, but this new one in development has even more ports. All told, it has HDMI, USB 3.1 x 2, microSD/SD, Thunderbolt 3, and USB-C. It’s designed to plug into both your MacBook Pro USB-C ports and take the place of any dongles you might need. As of this writing, there are still a few pledge slots for $69 that will net you one, but those are going fast. Sanho has blown by its funding goal of $100,000 by 3X, and there’s still 39 days to go on the campaign. Clearly, there’s a demand for this product in the Mac community. Check out the promo video.

This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer's guide to the best technology. When readers choose to buy The Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, they may earn affiliate commissions that support their work. Read their c...

Last week, we covered Yahoo’s new Answers app for iOS and Android, but noted that at the time it was still invite-only. Today, however, the company officially announced that Yahoo Answers is available to all users on iOS and Android.

Peel has introduced a Jet Black color option today for their super thin iPhone 7 and 7 Plus case. Peel launched their iPhone 7 cases soon after the phone’s official announcement, but the shiny Jet Black option had not yet been available. Those wanting to add an additional layer of protection to their phone, without having to lose the beauty of the phone’s sheen might want to take a look here.

Elgato is one of the more prolific HomeKit accessory makers we've covered, with a diverse lineup of accessories ranging from weather sensors to outlets, so it's no surprise that the company has continued to expand its HomeKit lineup in unique new directions with the recent debut of Eve Light Switch, a Bluetooth-based HomeKit in-wall switch for controlling lighting or any other fixtures and appliances that are controlled via a standard wall switch. Although Lutron's Caséta Wireless System was the first to offer HomeKit-compatible in-wall dimmers, it's worth noting that Elgato's new Light Switch represents the first completely standalone HomeKit light switch solution — it connects directly to HomeKit via Bluetooth and no additional hub or bridge is required.{/exp:char_limit}...

NASA's been making a concerted effort over the past year to share its enormous archive of images and video with the internet. Last October, the agency teamed up with Flickr to feature thousands of Apollo era mission pictures. Thursday, NASA once agai...

Software Updates via MacUpdate

EtreCheck 3.1.5 - For troubleshooting yo...

EtreCheck is an app that displays the important details of your system configuration and allow you to copy that information to the Clipboard. It is meant to be used with Apple Support Communities to... Read more

WALTR 2 2.0.8 - $39.95

WALTR 2 helps you wirelessly drag-and-drop any music, ringtones, videos, PDF, and ePub files onto your iPhone, iPad, or iPod without iTunes. It is the second major version of Softorino's critically-... Read more

Carbon Copy Cloner 4.1.12 - Easy-to-use...

Carbon Copy Cloner backups are better than ordinary backups. Suppose the unthinkable happens while you're under deadline to finish a project: your Mac is unresponsive and all you hear is an ominous,... Read more

Dropbox 16.3.27 - Cloud backup and synch...

Dropbox is an application that creates a special Finder folder that automatically syncs online and between your computers. It allows you to both backup files and keep them up-to-date between systems... Read more

Microsoft OneNote 15.29 - Free digital n...

OneNote is your very own digital notebook. With OneNote, you can capture that flash of genius, that moment of inspiration, or that list of errands that's too important to forget. Whether you're at... Read more

Spotify 1.0.44.100. - Stream music, crea...

Spotify is a streaming music service that gives you on-demand access to millions of songs. Whether you like driving rock, silky R&B, or grandiose classical music, Spotify's massive catalogue puts... Read more

SpamSieve 2.9.27 - Robust spam filter fo...

SpamSieve is a robust spam filter for major email clients that uses powerful Bayesian spam filtering.
SpamSieve understands what your spam looks like in order to block it all, but also learns what... Read more

VueScan 9.5.62 - Scanner software with a...

VueScan is a scanning program that works with most high-quality flatbed and film scanners to produce scans that have excellent color fidelity and color balance. VueScan is easy to use, and has... Read more

Fantastical 2.3.2 - Create calendar even...

Fantastical 2 is the Mac calendar you'll actually enjoy using. Creating an event with Fantastical is quick, easy, and fun:
Open Fantastical with a single click or keystroke
Type in your event... Read more

PCalc 4.4.4 - Full-featured scientific c...

PCalc is a full-featured, scriptable scientific calculator with support for hexadecimal, octal, and binary calculations, as well as an RPN mode, programmable functions, and an extensive set of unit... Read more

Latest Forum Discussions

Christmas is fast approaching and that means it's time to prepare for Santa's yearly pilgrimage around the globe. Christmas Eve is an exciting time as parents help their kids get ready to welcome Santa. You've got the cookies and milk all planned... | Read more »

Galaxy on Fire 3 and four other fantasti...

Galaxy on Fire 3 - Manticore brings the series back for another round of daring space battles. It's familiar territory for folks who are familiar with the franchise. If you've beaten the game and are looking to broaden your horizons, might we... | Read more »

The best apps for your holiday gift exch...

What's that, you say? You still haven't started your holiday shopping? Don't beat yourself up over it -- a lot of people have been putting it off, too. It's become easier and easier to procrastinate gift shopping thanks to a number of apps that... | Read more »

MyTona, based in the chilly Siberian city of Yakutsk, has brought a little festive fun to its hidden object game Seekers Notes: Hidden Mystery. The Christmas update introduces some new inhabitants to players, and with them a chance to win plenty of... | Read more »

PINE GROVE 1.0
Device: iOS Universal
Category: Games
Price: $1.99, Version: 1.0 (iTunes)
Description:
A pine grove where there are no footsteps of people due to continuous missing cases. The case is still unsolved and nothing has... | Read more »

Niantic teases new Pokémon announcement...

After rumors started swirling yesterday, it turns out there is an official Pokémon GO update on its way. We’ll find out what’s in store for us and our growing Pokémon collections tomorrow during the Starbucks event, but Niantic will be revealing... | Read more »

3 reasons why Nicki Minaj: The Empire is...

Nicki Minaj is as business-savvy as she is musically talented and she’s proved that by launching her own game. Designed by Glu, purveyors of other fine celebrity games like cult favorite Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, Nicki Minaj: The Empire launched... | Read more »

Clash of Clans is getting its own animat...

Riding on its unending wave of fame and success, Clash of Clans is getting an animated web series based on its Clash-A-Rama animated shorts.As opposed to the current shorts' 60 second run time, the new and improved Clash-A-Rama will be comprised of... | Read more »

Price Scanner via MacPrices.net

Never Settle for Low Performing Wifi With iOS...

AppYogi Software has announced the release of WiFi Signal Strength Status App 1.0, the company’s new utility developed exclusively for macOS. WiFi Signal Strength Status App features a unique, single... Read more

DietSensor, Inc., a developer of smart food and nutrition applications designed to fight diabetes and obesity and help improve overall fitness, has announced the launch of its DietSensor app for... Read more

Best Buy has dropped their price on the 64GB Apple TV to $159.99 including free shipping. That’s $40 off MSRP.
32GB Apple TVs are on sale right now for $98 on Sams Club’s online store. That’s $51 off... Read more

12-inch Retina MacBooks, Apple refurbished, n...

Apple has restocked a full line of Certified Refurbished 2016 12″ Retina MacBooks, now available for $200-$260 off MSRP. Refurbished 2015 models are available starting at $929. Apple will include a... Read more

Apple has Certified Refurbished 13″ MacBook Airs available starting at $849. An Apple one-year warranty is included with each MacBook, and shipping is free:
- 13″ 1.6GHz/8GB/128GB MacBook Air: $849 $... Read more

Apple refurbished iMacs available for up to $...

Apple has Certified Refurbished 2015 21″ & 27″ iMacs available for up to $350 off MSRP. Apple’s one-year warranty is standard, and shipping is free. The following models are available:
- 21″ 3.... Read more

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